130 THE BIRDS OF THE WOODS 



following soon after, although a few remain all through the year. These 



are soon joined by others, which come down from the north to spend the winter 



in temperate Europe. Holes in trees and walls, and elsewhere, even pumps and 



cupboards, form the nesting and sleeping places of the great tit. In April the nest 



contains from five to nine or more eggs, white, with small rusty yellow spots and 



faint underlying greyish markings. The nest itself is a felted mass of grass, moss, 



rootlets, wool, hair, and feathers. The bird is a regular little busybody — inquisitive, 



dainty-mouthed, and so daring that one may be caught three or four times in 



succession at the same spot. Although fond of company, it will attack birds 



larger than itself, and kill them if possible, splitting their skulls to get at their 



brains. Great tits never seem anxious to cross a wide plain, and often perch for 



a long time in large parties on the last tree of the forest before they make up 



their minds to take to the open country. Always hungry, they search the 



smallest corners for food ; and after seizing their food, press it with one foot 



against a twig, and by this means are enabled to peck out the inside of an insect 



or the soft part of a seed or fruit, after which they swallow it a little at a time. 



The great tit, which is 6 inches long, is green above and yellowish below, its head, 



the sides of its cheeks, and an apron from the throat downwards being glossy black ; 



while the cheeks are white and the tail bluish grey with the feathers black along 



the inner webs, and the outer ones white along the outer webs and at the tips. 



The species ranges over Europe from Lapland to Spain, from Scotland to the Urals, 



and over western and central Asia north of the Himalaya, but does not occur in 



India, China, or Japan. It is also found in north-western Africa and in the 



Canaries, and is particularly abundant in Palestine 



The coal titmouse (P. ater) has a distribution very similar to the 

 Coal Titmouse. . .... 



last ; its place in the far east being taken by P. pekmensis, as is that 



of P. major by P. minor. In the British Isles it is known only as a migrant, 



the resident coal tit having its back^ brown instead of blue, being a distinct 



race (P. a. britannicus). In the north it is not resident ; during migration it 



keeps to the line of trees and bushes, and is then often found in forests, parks, and 



gardens, almost always accompanied by goldcrests, crested tits, and allied birds. 



It always nests in a hole, which may be placed anywhere, though usually in a tree 



or a wall. This sprightly and courageous tit has a short, fluttering flight, and 



may sometimes be seen bristling up its crown into a crest as it hunts among the 



pine-trees, and clings to the cones, looking for insects and seeds, which when in 



plenty it stores in the crevices of the bark. The bird, however, is more often heard 



than seen ; its note being a shrill twitter or a double " clink " easily recognisable. 



There is some white on the cheeks and nape of the neck, the head and throat are 



glossy black, but the throat-patch does not extend over the whitish breast. 



_ The marsh titmouse (P. palustris) should be sought among the 



Marsh Titmouse. \ r / _ o o 



willows and alders of the marshes, but is as often seen elsewhere. 

 During summer on the Continent it keeps mostly to leafy woods with plenty of 

 underwood, and not too many high trees, although, curiously enough, in Transyl- 

 vania it prefers beech-woods to other places. In all countries it is found in 

 orchards and gardens, which may or may not be near water. Subsisting chiefly 

 on insects, berries, and seeds, this tit is as much attracted by the seeds of the 



